Commodore 64 Emulator Approved For the App Store

Apple has finally allowed the Commodore 64 emulator by Manomio LLC into the App Store. It had previously been rejected (in June). In order to get their app accepted, however, the company had to disable BASIC from the package.

I'm assuming that Commodore 64 fans (and there are plenty, as the C64 is the best-selling single computer model of all time) remember BASIC (or maybe not!), the old programming language AKA Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. In reality, C64, still contains BASIC in the app, and some clever hackers have discovered how to re-enable it, according to the company.

Also, the company had to remove all references to the word "emulator" from the product. That one I'm not clear on, but the reason BASIC had to be disabled is that the App Store doesn't allow "interpreters," which is what BASIC is.

Unlike products like M.A.M.E. that can run arbitrary images from old arcade games, C64 will only run fully licensed disk images that are offered through Manomio.

The $4.99 app comes with the games Dragons Den, Le Mans, Jupiter Lander, Arctic Shipwreck and Jack Attack. According to the company, Bristle, Astro Chase, and Commodore Sports Pack will be coming soon. It's unclear

Although BASIC is disabled in this version, according to a screenshot via the App Store, it might be coming back in a future release, although we'd have more confidence in that if they managed to spell "despair" correctly.